Overall: 4.5/5 Stars
Summary of review:
What a great book! Jessica is candid and truly “open” about telling her life through the ups and downs.
Summary:
This is a memoir written by Jessica Simpson.
It follows her life from childhood to present day. She talks about her life, struggles, family, relationships, the industry, and a lot more. Throughout everything, Jessica gives sound advice and is positive. Her positivity radiates through the pages.
If you are listening to the audiobook, you get bonus songs at the end!
My thoughts:
I was not a “Jessica Simpson fan” going into this novel. It is odd, since I grew up loving pop music from the 90s! I knew of Jessica Simpson- I mean you would have to live under a rock not to hear the juicy tabloid rumors in every Ok! Magazine. There were a few bonus songs at the end of the audiobook. I was not a fan before the book, but I am now!
This memoir takes you on quite the journey. It is candid, honest, and relatable. It is entertaining as well. You will laugh and cry through it all. I loved that it “dished” on a lot of topics that I was curious about.
It starts from her youth to present day. We learn details of her reality show with ex-husband, Nick Lachey. I loved reading behind the camera details. We also learned a lot about her relationships with John Mayer, Tony Romo, and Eric Johnson. This novel really made me look at John Mayer in a new light for sure. I thought it was interesting that her relationships seem to define or consume her. She talks about herself by talking about them. But in her marriage, she seems like she found herself.
We also read about her career. We see her start in the music industry, then film, and finally fashion. One thing that you can say about Jessica is that she has built an empire with her name/brand!
We also follow her struggles in life. Struggles in love, accepting/finding herself, body image, sexual abuse, alcoholism, media/industry, loss of a family member, etc. I have lost a family member in the same way, and I know the feeling of helplessness and sorrow. These feelings that she has really hit close to home. Also, you can see her struggling with her body image throughout the memoir. She says that all bodies are beautiful, but cannot accept her own body weight. She explains how the industry and media are to blame for a lot of that.
Conclusion:
This memoir is actually great. Even if your are not a Jessica Simpson fan, I would recommend listening to this book!
Trigger warnings: Body image, family member’s death, grieving, bullying, alcoholism, sexual assault, psychological domestic abuse
